Did you build it better?

With the 2009 Build a Better Burger contest officially closed for entries, we thought now might be a good time to check in with everyone and see how they are feeling about their entries!

We think it's safe to say that, just at first glance through the large stacks of recipes, we know our judges are going to have their hands (and taste buds!) full this season! But we also think that it took everyone some serious time to create these potentially-winning recipes...so we wanna hear about it!

How many times did you try to perfect that slaw? How many different types of buns did you make your family test? What can we say? Inquiring minds want to know :-)

We came across this story in the blogosphere and thought we would share one to get y'all started, and so you can see that you're not alone in the trial and error recipe game.

Funny stories, successes and all-around good, clean burger fun are welcome in the comments field below!

Comments

I cooked and had more "BBB Partie's"! So much so, that my friends and family got into giving me ratings using the criteria from the rules and doing the "Burger Personality" test. I had a wine pairing and got a good choice of wine, we all thought the Merlot was "the one". I got a 10 on the recipe from them, a pretty good rating, but maybe it was the fact that they got to sit and get served..! Or, maybe they thought that I wouldn't cook again for them. In any event, I cooked the recipe over and over, constantly tweaking until "I've got it" came to my lips. It was certainly a work in progress for a month, but the end result was pretty good if I have to say so myself.
I actually got an invite to make these burgers for one of my testor's yesterday, for a party of 25. I told her she gave me a panic attack! I'd be cooking and not enjoying with the rest of the guests. Hey, I guess that's a compliment, as she gave me a 10 but now I wonder about the unterior movtive, hmmmm!

When I committed myself to this contest, to building not just a better beef burger, but the best beef burger, I had no clue I would alter my very human composition. I have, to date, consumed more beef than I think I have ever eaten in my life. I believe that if I were to be tested for my cellular makeup, that scientists may confuse me for an actual steer.
My nine year old son was with me the morning I made the Build a Better Burger declaration. His involvement was pure greed. I told him that if I won, he would get cash for helping me "taste test." His little, money-hungry eyes gleamed and he went straight into Iron Chef Judge mode. That is, until day three hit and we had eaten nearly nine different burgers. "Another burger? Mom, please, no."
From my son I moved into bigger circles, begging friends and even acquaintances to come to "Burger Tastings." From a homeless man squatting nearby in the forest, to a teacher at the local community college, my final burger - a spicy concoction of fresh mangoes, Chenin Blanc and juicy beef, was deemed "The best burger I have ever eaten in my life." Nothing topped that compliment, ever. Not even when my mother in law told me I was a good cook, no, not even then.
And no words could describe the mess of emotions I felt when the day came that I had to finalize my recipe, counting each salt teaspoon and making sure (as the blog to graciously encourages) to put my ingredients in order. Hitting "submit" was not only a sigh of relief, but the tumultuous moment where I realized I can no longer perfect the burger, and it is no longer in my hands. I can honestly say, through all the fear and worry, the laughter and expanding waistlines, nothing made this summer better than this contest. So for that, thank you!

I need to get something else "out" here on the Blog. I think I am suffering from what I just created, the "post-recipe should-haves blues" and I am wondering if anyone else is. I posted my recipe the morning of the last entry day. I hit the submit button and was pretty proud of myself, with never having formally written a recipe and format it, I thought "I did OK"! My burger is unigue, using Broccoli-Rabi's and Kalamata Olives over a smeared Italian sausage topped burger, so needless to say, I'm thinking I'm the cat's meow here. Then, last night I woke up at 3 am, I am reviewing my submitted recipe in my mind. I came downstairs to write this because it came to me that when I wrote the recipe, I said to put the "8 quart pot with 6 quarts of water on the side-burner on medium-high..." I sat up in bed and thought, my goodness, will I get disqualified for saying to use a side-burner instead of the grill-grates? Maybe the grills we get to use won't have side-burners, wouldn't "they" know that I could just use the grill? I got streesed thinking how when I just watched the 2008 BBB contest on the FoodNetwork show weeks ago, that I didn't remember if those grills had side-burners. This sort of reminds me of the book Julie & Julia as I sit here typing and looking at a photo of myself talking with Julia Child at a food event @ Johnson & Wales in R.I. - Julie & Julia had "these moments" and they still survived! So, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

My family has tried so many versions of one of my entries, they probably could list the ingredients by heart! In fact, I had to pull in my sister-in-law from TX as a taster, just to get an unbiased (and unfamiliar) opinion. The biggest issue with this entry was deciding how to handle one of the ingredients. Should I use pre-packaged? Canned? instant? Fresh? I remember James McNair stating that he prefers fresh whenever possible, so I "bit the bullet" and went with a version that used the fresh ingredient, which made it a little more difficult to prepare on a grill. But, it is an integral part of the burger and the overall idea, so I finally decided I wouldn't compromise the spirit of the burger or the quality with anything less. Then I had to decide where I wanted that particular part of the burger, inside or on? Either way, the burger is absolutely fabulous and so unique! I guess I'll have to wait a few more days . . .

We are loving these stories! It's so nice to hear about everyone's thought process and tales while they are creating the recipes. We only get to see the final product and while we definitely understand the heart and soul that goes into the recipes, it's super fun for us to hear actual stories of individuals who are participating! Good luck to all!!

EXCITEMENT & ANXIETY! Those are the two words that come to mind when I was preparing for Building A Better Burger, or as another blogger stated "the best burger".

I've been talking about this competition with my friends, family and co-workers for the last 5 months! :) At work, I've brought up the competition AT LEAST two times a week! Raving about how excited I am, or explaining my latest and greatest creation on a hamburger bun. :)

I couldn't tell you how many times I've read (and re-read) the rules, faqs and tips, to try to make sure that I was following the instructions to a tee! One of the most nerve racking things was making sure that the ingredients were written in the order that they appeared...LET ME TELL YA...ANXIETY! :)

When having my friends taste test the burgers, I'd really pump up the burgers with naming all of the ingredients used, and letting them know how excited I am about the competition; so when it came to time to eating the burgers, I was really anxious about everyone's reaction.

I received great feedback, which helped me tweak and perfect (to the best of my ability) all of my recipes submitted.

Now, in just a couple of weeks, we will all know how we fared in our attempts to "Build A Better Burger".

This experience has been a learning process for me. I realize it's not just about creating a great burger, but being able to write a user-friendly recipe and sell the burger with a great name. I love burgers, and it has been fun to think of creative ways to prepare them. But as others have mentioned, I too have had some anxiety. I have read over the rules many times, tried out several recipes over and over again, and have read and re-read my recipes (even after the closing of the contest). Call me crazy, but I am loving all of this!

All I know is that the burger entry I submitted is druelled over by everyone I cook it for. I don't do contests, but I love to cook on my Wolf stove with a center grill and my wonderful Weber charcoal grill. I'm able to create great food all year round. I entered the same burger as last year, however, I was surely disqualified last year as I put some sauce 'on the side'. Oooops. So much for my first, and last minute entry!!! I eliminated the side this year and I'm just entering a burger I make all the time because it is 'dang-good' and replaces the efforts of making an entire prime-rib dinner in the summer in one delicious and simple effort! I look forward to finding-out who wins and might continue to wonder after this year if any judges tried this burger, because it is sinfully yummy....

New to this process altogether but not to cooking for my family and friends. I heard about a burger contest and went searching and found this one. Even though I was a little late I started making burgers and inviting people over to taste. I had a tables of people smelling, looking at, and tasting my burgers. This is a learning experience for me but I loved every moment of it. Hopefully my recipes made sense, I'm now saying "oh I should have added more of that!", and the judges loved them as much as my family and friends did! I am holding my breath...

I have followed the BBB for the last 8 years. I've entered the contest only 3 times, but I did bravely enter again this year. I've always been so intimidated to even try to enter a competition like this because when I read the winning recipes I think, "How in the world do people come up with such creative culinary inventions???!!!!" The winning recipes are always so amazing! Congrats to all the past winners and finalists. In my humble opinion, you all are so worthy (Bow)! As for my burger this year, I pushed myself to my creative limit, and had my 17 year old son critique my efforts. I didn't stop trying until I heard him say, "Wow, that's good!" (He ate a ton of burgers!) (I knew my husband would say anything I made was good because he's easy to please, so I didn't dare use him as my home judge!) So whether or not I win or lose in this contest, I know I won with my discriminating son, and that's a nice prize in and of itself!

Wow...in reading all of the blog's, I have to say that we are the 'Burger People of the World!" All of us, with wearing our hearts on our burgers! Good luck to all of us! I think that we are all in good company and I'll bet, if we get to meet and compete, that we will become very friendly to say the least...

I just had to comment after Kathie Gill -- I completely understand what you mean when you say "How did they (past winners)come up with such creative culinary inventions?"! Reading through previous winners I felt as low on the totem pole as I could go. I think all of us who braved the competition are pretty nifty in the kitchen, knowing our strengths and abilities to turn out a delicious meal. However, hearing words like "frazzled onions" and "ginger-lime aioli" to name a few really had me sweating big time. My biggest fear throughout the process wasn't my ability to create something delicious (I think we all have done this!) but to impress upon the judges just HOW delicious they are. Naming a burger for a contest is worse than naming a child! And writing a recipe to specifics can be harder than writing a college thesis. It truly takes nerves of steel to come up and jump into a truly amazing contest like the BBB one. I'd like to say, "I hope we all win" but I know you know as well as I do, I hope it's me! (lol). Good luck everyone - excited to hear who makes it to Napa Valley!

I will have to agree with Bryanne. I came up with 2 recipes, one for the beef round and one for the alternative round and couldn't come up with a catchy name for either one. Once I decided to enter the contest, after seeing last years on TV, I sat for days studying the winning recipes and finalists recipes from the past, jotting down ideas and writing recipes. I didn't want to repeat any ingredients that had been used in the past - I wanted mine to have something that hadn't been used before. Finally after a couple of weeks of going back and forth, I just started putting this and that together, which is probably what I should have done in the first place. My taste testers and judges were my neighbors and they were loving it because it meant those were nights they didn't have to cook. Plus, I wanted to use their grill because I wanted to test my recipes on both a gas which is what they have as well as our Weber charcoal. But yes, naming, that wasn't easy, and it wasn't until nearly the last minute until I finally came up with something and I hope it's catchy enough. Well, we can all relax now, our recipes are submitted and the judges have their job to do now, all we can do is sit back, toast each other with a glass of wine and wish everyone good luck, so good luck everyone.

I have agonized over this competition for months now. I have been grilling my buns off! One thing was easy getting testers, family, co-workers, neighbors, friends all taste testers. Coming up with the best burger was expensive. I had to start having tasters pitch in. I would give them a list of ingredients to buy and I would get to cooking. Heck I even had call in orders!! My sister calls me one morning yes I did say morning and says I would like to order a "*** burger". I was like what in the world. She proclaimed she had a dream about the beef burger I finally went with and had to have one. I think I have made more burgers the past couple of months than McDonalds! Every 2 or 3 days I was trying a burger out on someone. I entered a beef recipe and a turkey recipe. I am extremely proud of both. It was a long hall to get to the entry date but once I pressed that submit button the sweating had begun. I am wondering if you will get feedback on your recipe if it is not chosen. I have never entered a cooking competition before but I have cooked a ton of burgers. I have used ingredients I have never used before and repeatedly amazed myself. I hated turkey burgers until the one I concocted, I must toot my own horn it was fantastic and my testers are still raving about it and asking for the recipe. I am using this as my gauge that this must be one tasty burger. The question I had to keep asking was is this a 50,000 burger? Then naming the burger ugh the agony! Which ingredient stands out, I don’t want it to wacky, not to common. It is easier to name a pet or child than a burger! Good luck to all I hope to see at least 9 of you in Napa!

I had a huge "Burger Bash" where I made all 4 of my entry burgers for me family and friends. I think I ended up with some winning recipes, but only the judges and time will tell. I think this is an awesome contest and even if I don't place this year, you can bet I will be entering again next year!

To borrow slightly from Robert Fulghum…all I need to know about life I learned this summer building better burgers. 1.) Don’t over think things…when it comes to burgers (and life) it is often best to keep it simple 2) Never leave a grill or stove unattended. I learned that prosciutto placed on the grill (and forgotten about) will disintegrate to a fine black dust in a matter of moments. 3.) Share. It is best not to eat all of your burger creations yourself…it helps your waistline and it is really nice to get some feedback (good and bad). 4.) Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. When one of those burgers you have kindly shared with others is, well…just awful (an experiment with prosciutto, melon and mint comes to mind) just say that you are sorry and move on. 5.) Don’t take things that aren’t yours. While few would dispute that Bobby Flay makes some kick a** burgers, I am pretty sure that taking his recipes and sticking your name on them is not what Sutter Home has in mind. 6.) Balance is important. In life, try to mix work with play. In burgers, try to find a good meat to bun ratio and for goodness sakes don’t forget the cheese. 7.) Remember to try and keep things a little spicy. Hot sauce, jalapenos (and sometimes high heels) work best for that. 8.) You can’t always win. While I might think I have built the very best burger, truthfully someone may have built a better one. 9.) If all the world leaders sat down and shared a glass of wine with a really great burger we could bring about world peace. OK, maybe that’s a stretch, but it couldn’t hurt.

Let's just say that having a house filled with growing boys, it was no difficulty at all to talk them into what became known as "burgerfest" each time we were going to have burgers for the contest for dinner AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN... My husband and boys had two hands down favorites that we had over and over and over again until I was sure that we had tweaked and perfected every step, every spoonful of sauce and every topping. Our first favorite literally stopped our normally loud and boisterous family upon first bite "right in their trax" so to speak. Everyone was suddenly completely silent and let out a united, "oh - my - goodness!" That was when I knew we really had something. We named it Stop in Your Trax Burger cuz that's what it did to us! Our other entry was based upon all of our family's favorite tastes at any perfect picnis. It is a far less extravagant combination of flavors but those classic time honored flavors all on one bun are what became "Grandmas Perfect Picnic Burger". After all, we have all gained weight and need to abstain from burgers for a few weeks or we'll be in real trouble. Regardless, it was the most delicious and satisfying few months any of us spent groaning, "I can't believe how much I ate, I'll never do that again"....just to turn around and gladly do it again the following week. thanks for a lot of fun!

I am a first time contest person so this was one of the most exciting things that I have done...let me tell you I am hooked. I think I made my poor sister and boy friend try at least 10 different versions of my burger. First with a hand made corn meal gordita shell then to a Mexican roll then to a standard bun before we landed on the winner. I think we were all bunned out after 3 rounds of bun changes.

My favorite thing was when I would say "Guess what we are having for dinner tonight?" and my sister and boy friend would say "Oh please don't let it be your burger!" I had to pour on the guilt to get them to eat burgers for 4 nights straight while I perfected the recipe. Oh how I love them!

I do have to give it up to my family who helped me read and re-read the rules and regulations to make sure the recipe was up to par. Don't think I could have done it with out them. I had so much fun with the whole thing that I can't wait to do it again next year. Now addicted to cooking contest. :P

I love contests, especially ones where you get to eat the results of the effort to enter. My family eagerly chewed and swallowed several rounds of turkey burgers before we landed on the final version. I've been following this contest for years but this is the first entry for me. There's so much nuance involved in perfecting a recipe. A little of this. A lot more of that. A whoa, too much of something that can derail a batch of otherwise lovely burgers. Everyone got involved, giving suggestions and encouraging the cook. We can't wait for the results and are hoping to hear that my turkey burger is among the judges' favorites for the finals.

After what I thought was "hitting the mark", I packed my trusty burger recipe into a tin box and headed across country. From family reunions in Indiana to horse shows in California, I grilled my mitts off for cousins, friends, my doctor, and even for the guy whose quoting my new roof. Come to find out that folks in the mid west are married to the ole traditional burger....as my 85 year old Uncle Hugh complained after his first bite, "What damn loone puts peaches in a burger!" Well, that would be me Uncle Hugh. Horse people on the west coast loved the presentation and somehow found my Port spread to be a "simple but unassuming condiment". But they did say my burger lacked expression and an aromatic profile. Yikes...Napa Valley is going to be a tough crowd. Back to the drawing board. Then my roof guy Ed...well....he doesn't say much but he DID ask for seconds. I guess for him it didnt matter if it had a peach or if the Port was less-than vintage....all that mattered was that it tasted great. Its been a wonderful experience. Thank you Sutter Homes for such a creative outlet. If I never make it to the finals (but I sure hope I do) ....thats OK...winning has come in the form of the great fun of bringing people together over an incredible glass of wine and yes, a simple,lovely burger. Good luck everyone!

This is the first time I've ever tried to enter a recipe contest. I worked for months coming up with the recipes and trying them on my family. I decided to work on two recipes, one for beef and one for alternative. My boyfriend is usually the one who works the grill, so I decided it was best to learn the ropes....just in case. I'm so excited to find out who got into the finals! I double checked the rules, then triple, and quadruple! If I dont' make it this year, well there is always next year to try again!

This is my frst food contest. I watched the BBB contest on TV for the year before. The Burger name came to me first. It has been a learning experience with the help of my large family eating the burgers as I tried to master them. I think it was as fun for them as it was for me. When I felt it was perfect, I sat down and submitted my reciepe. I think actully writting the reciepe was the most difficult. I did not want to forget a step or an ingredient. I have re-thought if there was anything I could have done better and really for my first try at this I did a great job. It has been a fun experience and I will do this next year if not pick. My burger has a tropical asian feel to it. I call it "The Tropical Asian Crunch Burger". Anything tropical sounds good in WY the ice box of the nation. The waiting to see who gets picked is nerve racking and the hard part. This has got me hooked on cooking contest. I will wait to see how this goes before I compete in another. I am sure you all worked as hard on your burgers I worked on mine. I wish you all Good Luck to you all!!!

After missing the deadline last year and being horrifically mortified by my inability to grasp time zone differences, I started working on burger concepts six months ago. I had one of those profound ‘Eureka!” moments when the idea just came to me all at once! Being a resident of the great state of New Hampshire made choosing game meet a no-brainer for me, and working with various game meats year round gave me the confidence I needed to execute it perfectly. As I have learned in the past; theory is one thing but execution is a whole different ‘bag of buns’.

Speaking of buns, I knew instinctively that I would use a beautiful fresh Brioche for my burger and garnered up the courage to go and speak to ‘the crazy Austrian” Franz, at our local bakery about employing his help in that area. Why do folks call Franz crazy? Well, let’s start by saying that he can open up the gates of heaven with his buttery croissants but he isn’t going to get past the gate with his personality! It’s not that he is a mean man as much as I think his heavy accent always makes one feel like he is yelling at you or maybe because his accent is thick people speak to him like he is deaf! Well, I talked to him and it wasn’t scary at all. As a matter of fact he seemed pleased and honored. In his thick accent, he told me to come back first thing the next morning and he would have for me a half dozen of the best Brioche anyone has ever tasted. Whew!

Next on the list of ingredients to secure was the actual meat. I chose duck simply for the challenge of making it appeal to even the most persnickety people. Shooting my own duck was simply out of the question as the Department of Fish and Game would surely have my head (and my gun) if I bagged a duck or two out of season. So, off to my local butcher I went. Now, where Franz is intimidating, my butcher is not. He is a fair skinned, red headed, gentle giant, who can never do enough for me. I made my request; he smiled, and was back in five minutes with my order. Just ducky!

The day arrived when I would make the burger for friends and family. We set everything up cook-off style in the back yard; my husband having been elected to run extension cords for the Cuisinart and such and off I went. I do admit I was awfully disappointed with the cool temperature of the day. I really wanted to have a go at this in the same heat one would have in Napa in September. But in the end, the stars aligned and everyone was pleased, indeed. The whole experience was a great adventure; along the way I made friends with a ‘crazy Austrian” and pleased the palates of people from 6-75 years old. Not an easy feat. My most endearing moment was watching children licking the spoons and bowl for my Fig Ketchup, in the same manner they would attack cake batter!

So, like everyone else I have my spatulas crossed and am waiting for August 20th to arrive in the hopes I get ‘the call”. If I make it to the cook-off it will be a dream come true and I am going to be sure to give James McNair a kiss…Bob Barker style!

I had to comment on Veronica's post....borrowing from Robert Fulghum.....your comments were so eloquently, humorously, and wisely put!!!!.....loved it.....if I were judging on posts alone, you'd win a spot at the cook-off....finally I want to comment on reading the Guidelines....not the Official Rules, but the Guidlelines....it's a good idea to read those BEFORE you hit the submit button....lol....

I tried two recipes out on family and friends and they are just as excited as I am. Of course, I can't imagine making the finalist round my first time trying, but I have another year to perfect my recipes.

I told my husband that we would be having burgers for months on end and that was no lie. So...when after having had a multitude of burgers he grabbed leftovers from the fridge declaring them "really good, even cold" at 7 in the morning I thought "That's My Burger". Time will tell. Good luck everyone!

I'm a first-timer, also. While I've followed the contest for many years, I stumbled upon the website and rules literally days before the deadline. I figured I didn't have anything to lose, so I tried my burger recipe just once and submitted it! You all are so dedicated, and it's very inspiring. I'm already thinking of burgers for next year, and I'll be sure to plan in advance. I certainly don't expect anything to come out of this year's competition, other than knowledge of the rules. I'll be back next year, for sure!

I've tried to come up with a Better Burger to enter for years and have always missed the deadline, over-thought the recipe, etc. so this year I just did it. O.K. I did carmelize a ton of onions and frying eggs on the grill took some practice but the end result was a grown up version of a college specialty. Good Luck everyone!

Coming up with the tastiest combinations for my entries was great fun! Adding a little bit of "this" and removing a little bit of "that"....firing up the grill....building the finished burgers. What can I say? It was a challenge but it was also very enjoyable.
I work full time, so every weekend I'd prepare one of my recipes, each time hoping it was "the one"! My Husband and friends didn't mind taste-testing and they provided me with some valuable criticism.
Since this is the first time I've entered recipes in the Build a Better Burger contest, I'm hoping the recipes will sound enticing enough to get me a place in the cook-off. Beginners luck? I sure hope so! If not, back to the drawing board for next year's 20th Anniversary!

This was my first time entering!! I was sooo excited, my boyfriend and I started bouncing ideas off of each other, and we decided it would be cool for both of us to enter and hopefully we could win a nice trip and chance to get to cook on tv!!! Not to mention that nice grand prize. For months, I planned and tested recipes. Everytime I would come up with an idea, I'd write it down on a scratch sheet of paper, by the end of it, I had this big binder full of notes and ideas. The tough part was actually sitting down and coming up with a few good solid recipes that I was confident with sharing. I thought also, the more recipes I submit, the better my chances. Me, being the procrastinator, I decided to wait until the last week to submit my entries. I ultimately only submitted 4, and I was wishing I could do more, but Im happy I even got a chance to enter!! I did have a anxiety attack after I submitted all the recipes, I started worrying that the names were not catchy enough, or I shouldve did more. At the end of the it all, Im happy with my entries, and hope I get a shot at the prize. I wish everyone the best of luck!!!! Im already preparing for next years competition!!!

First time entering myself. I mulled over it for a few days then took one day and thought up about 10 recipes. It was then I looked at the past winners and past entries, and sure wish I had done that first because I ended up scrapping 7 out of 10 because they had all been done in one way or another.
I tried out the remaining 3 over the following few nights. The first one I made was it, it was exactly what I wanted to enter. I made it once and havent made it again, though I have wanted to because I found it delicious!
It's my high hopes that lead me to believe that from August 20-September 26th I will make it about 20 times.

So,is everyone else on pins and needles?? Me too. I've missed the deadline for this competition for the past 2 years. I finally got it done this year. I sent in 2 burger recipes. I hope putting in a little twist will do the trick. Good luck everyone.